


Unity

by coolbreezemage



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:48:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29266761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbreezemage/pseuds/coolbreezemage
Summary: The President of Ni'Var meets an arrogant human and a fascinating Captain.
Relationships: Saru/T'Rina
Comments: 9
Kudos: 11





	Unity

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not the only one who thought there was something weird going on between these two, right? There was nothing happening for most of it, but then when they said goodbye it felt like one of those TNG episodes where Riker falls for the alien ambassador lady.

When her aides informed her that a Starfleet ship from the distant past was coming to argue for possession of her people’s greatest shame, President T’Rina expected an arrogant human. 

And she certainly got an arrogant human. A human trained in logic, however imperfectly, and with all the hunter’s instincts of a le’matya. A human who thought that would be enough to sway her decision. But Spock’s sister or not, she still carried the worst traits of her people.

So many generations had passed since Vulcans first lifted humanity into the stars, and still they thought they owned the universe and everything in it. Of course one from so long ago would be even more so.

But the captain of the Discovery was something else entirely. A pleasant surprise, in fact. Elegant, quiet, patient. He demanded nothing of her or her people or her planet, almost as if he understood how much of a disruption this trial was. How much of a risk to the fragile peace between Vulcan and Romulan.

He did not chatter uselessly just for the sake of it, and he made no attempt to pull her into uncomfortable human pleasantries. So she accepted his offer to tour his ship, and soon they fell into an acceptable sort of conversation, about architecture and technology and history. She would not ask after his own history, though she was growing more and more curious as she listened to him speak. She had not thought there were Kelpiens in Starfleet in his era. 

Now, they wait in silence. The trial commences. It is not logical to be anxious about the outcome, but she is. She cannot yet predict what the quorum will decide. And she does not know what outcome she would prefer. 

The galaxy cannot prosper with the Burn unsolved. But if the data confirms the fault lies with Ni’Var, it will destroy them. But if the answer lies elsewhere, it might be the only way to end their world's self-imposed isolation.

She looks to the Captain. She sees him watching Michael Burnham and wonders what has happened between them, why they are avoiding each other’s eyes even as they clearly long to be closer.

Somehow, the obvious answer doesn’t seem to apply.

Which brings her to thoughts she should not be having about an alien. Illogical thoughts. They both have their own duties, their own paths. They cannot spare time to spend together.

Her path is to preserve the unity of her disparate peoples. His is… much the same, she finds. To guide his people through a divided world that demands too much of them and offers too little in return.

She wishes him success. 

She sees the moment when the trial begins spiraling towards disaster. Perhaps it would be more true to say that that had always been its trajectory from the start, but she had seen a faint chance that this arrogant human’s logic might convince her doubtful brethren. Instead, it may well tear them apart.

Burnham sees the coming catastrophe too, and calls the trial to an end. Sacrificing her wishes for the needs of the many on Ni’Var. 

But T’Rina thinks of a many beyond even that. 

Her decision after that is only logical.

And then it comes time to depart. Someday, they might meet again under more fortunate circumstances. If Commander Burnham’s mission is successful - and T’Rina has reason to believe it will be so - then a reunification of a different sort may soon begin, as the former worlds of the Federation find they can accomplish more together than they can apart. 

If it brings her and the Captain together again, she will count that too as a victory. 


End file.
